A Heartbroken Christmas
by Ecila404
Summary: Percy may be heartbroken, but it's Christmas and he's learning to love again. (One-shot, Percy/Nico)


Percy thinks the worst part about Annabeth is she hasn't really done anything wrong, anything that instantly made her into the villain. She broke up with him, but that's what people do when they're not happy in a relationship. Stringing him along would have been the bad thing to do, would've been cruel and unorthodox.

It's not like she maliciously intended for his mother to die only a few weeks after it happened, or wanted to see Percy's life fall apart. She wasn't even in town; she wasn't invited to the funeral; that might've been the only true act deserving of shame in the entire thing.

He wants to blame her for everything, but that wasn't the right thing to do either. Maybe it's what she didn't do; she didn't take all of her things with her. Maybe she subconsciously wanted him to remember her, remember how it hurt—more likely, their things had become so intertwined that no one thing was his or hers so she decided to leave it all.

It's not fair to blame Annabeth and he knows it. All she ever says to him now is how she wants him to be happy, but he has spent all these years alone pondering what the hell happy is supposed to be like when he doesn't have her mocking him, challenging him, always pushing him to strive to be something better.

Part of him still respects her, the part of him that attempts to force him into picking up the phone when she calls and the tiny piece of his brain that screams he should just forget the entire thing. Push it out of his life because it doesn't leave space for more important things, like moving on or possibly going back to get a proper education.

His mom used to tell him he'd make a good teacher. Patient, straightforward and generous with second chances but able to communicate in a way that isn't condescending in any way. After all, he understands not fitting in a world better than most.

One thing he knows for sure is that it's not fair to compare Annabeth and Nico. They're entirely different people and he has changed between the time in junior high when he spilled his lunch all over the coolest girl in school's new skirt, and when Nico walked in his store, but that doesn't stop him for doing it.

Annabeth knows things by the book, like she knows why the sky is blue but Nico knows that dragonflies have shovel-shaped penises and refuses to tell Percy why that is or how he knows it. She can bring up an article she read and mention that about seven million people go blind a year, but out of nowhere Nico will just mention that blind people don't see blackness, they see nothing.

The fact of the matter is Percy will never need anything of these things in his quaint life as a store owner but it's still interesting to hear about things or people even if you won't get to experience them firsthand. He likes to be fascinated and to have a change of perspective from some casual conversation, so let me tell you this— he will never look at dragonflies the same way.

There's the clear difference of appearance and Percy has never really made appearance a factor in any of his choices before but things are different. Nico's hair doesn't twirl on his finger like Annabeth's, staying obstinately straight, but it still feels the same way when he runs his fingers through it and the black contrasts his pale skin in the way that Annabeth's blonde paired with her tan skin.

Today's Christmas.

They're adults, which means they can't bolt to their presents right away, but Percy's a child at heart and he only eats half his bagel before tugging Nico by the hand towards the tree.

It's like Charlie Brown's tree, except it's plastic and perhaps a bit more scuffed up. When they went to buy it at a yard sale, the owner was incredulous but all too eager to be rid of it with no additional charge, claiming it wouldn't be right to charge them. Percy leaves ten dollars on the table when she's not looking and grabs Nico's hand as he makes a sprint for the car, leaving before she even notices. The sudden jolt of dragging Nico away makes him drop the bloody tree, scuffing one of the legs of the stand, but they're in too much of a rush to escape to do anything other than laugh about it.

Annabeth would have been upset, the mark tarnishing their new purchase, but Nico makes some comment about how some of the best inventions were mistakes. "Take penicillin," He had said, hand on Percy's thigh as they started the drive back to their tiny apartment, "Saves hundreds of thousands of people a year, and Fleming hadn't even been _trying_ to save anyone."

They named the tree Leaf because they were feeling sardonic that day but later Percy feels sentimental and they change it to Pete Zahut (try saying that one out loud, Percy gets a kick out of it every time and Nico has to force himself to roll his eyes in fear of looking too fond).

Two gifts are tucked under the tree, which now features some haphazardly arranged lights and ornaments, and they sit on the floor like children to open their gifts on a count of _1, 2, 3…_


End file.
